LGUs, power suppliers eye joint venture agreement

By Dolly Yasa

BACOLOD City – Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Thursday revealed future plans for a joint venture agreement between the local government units (LGUs) and power suppliers, specifically renewables in the province.

Lacson said the joint venture agreement plan came out during the Energy Summit on October 5 organized by the City of Bacolod and the Province of Negros Occidental with three electric cooperatives in the province, the business sector and some investors.

He added that the plan also came out because they learned that if it’s a joint venture between the LGUs and power suppliers, they can directly negotiate with electric cooperatives without the bidding process.

Issues faced by the industry were discussed especially the high cost of energy which is one of the burdens shouldered by the power consumers at the summit.

“It turns out that majority of the power sources are coal which is expensive that’s why power bills are jacking up now. We are really at the mercy of the cost of energy right now,” the governor told reporters here.

Lacson also pointed out that while the province has a sufficient source of renewable power like solar, he pointed out solar is only good for six to seven hours that’s why LGUs need to secure batteries and that’s where the joint venture agreement comes in.

“So we have to see the numbers how much it would cost especially the LGUs in this joint venture but this is for the future as a way of bringing down the cost of energy,” Lacson further said.

Bacolod City Mayor Albee Benitez noted that power costs can possibly be reduced “by 3 pesos” through continuous communication like the said summit and consistent access to generation of electric cooperatives.

He said the rate increase can be attributed to the higher generation, distribution lines, transmission and systems loss charges, and costs of power purchased from the Wholesale Electricity Spot Market.

Along with the goal of molding Negros Occidental to become totally renewable energy reliant, the citizens are reminded to be mindful of their power consumption as it is one of the factors that cause power hikes as well, he added in a press statement.